YSA hosts the orchestra, with soloist Avi Avital, March 7

An Oscar-winning English chamber orchestra is coming to Prescott, with a groundbreaking international soloist and a program of Bach and Dorman to herald the approach of Spring. The Yavapai Symphony Association welcomes the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, with guest soloist Avi Avital, Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. at Yavapai College Performing Arts Center.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, featuring mandolinist Avi Avital, will perform at the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon Street, in Prescott. Tickets are $45 to $65, and only available by contacting the Yavapai Symphony Association at (928) 776.4255. yavapaisymphony.org.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, led by Music Director and virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell, is one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the world’s greatest orchestral music. Founded in 1959 by John Churchill and the legendary Neville Marriner – and named after the location of its first performance – the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is one of the most-recorded chamber orchestras in the world, with more than 500 releases in their discography. Their soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus reached #1 in the Billboard Classical Albums chart and remains one of the most popular classical music recordings of all time.

Their program for the evening – which includes Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor and Walton’s Sonata for Strings – will feature the remarkable talents of internationally acclaimed mandolinist Avi Avital.

The first mandolin soloist ever nominated for a classical Grammy, Avital’s virtuosity on the instrument has drawn comparisons to Andres Segovia and Jascha Heifitz. The 45-year-old Israeli’s passion and dexterity in performance have made him a driving force behind the reinvigoration of the mandolin. More than 100 contemporary compositions have been written for him, as he continues to bring Classical, Baroque and folk music on the mandolin to public attention. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center – as well as in Beijing and Berlin. The New York Times dubbed Avital “explosively charismatic” onstage.